Chapter 6
Scripture Reading: Heb. 11:23-29
In this chapter we will talk about Moses' experience. In the previous chapter we spoke about Joseph, the one who had a vision which governed him and determined the choices in his life. Joseph's future was related to his vision. We all must be impressed with the need of having a vision. This vision needs to be nourished and be kept. We also saw the trials which one with a vision passes through. Then we saw Ruben's experience, a good brother with a good heart, who was willing to offer the life of his sons for his brother's life, but he failed in the matter of the lusts of the flesh. We can't in any way give opportunity to the flesh. The flesh can take us away from the course and the possibility of reigning with Christ.
We also saw that Simeon and Levi passed the birthright to Joseph because of their violence. We need to deal with the violence in our nature. There is just one way to deal with it: to be open to God and have a controlling vision that leads us to the spirit. We need to be people who live in the spirit, who depend on God. God wants to speak to us through this chapter. We need to have a pure and open heart, a heart which seeks the Lord. How can we have a pure heart? Just by opening ourselves to the Lord, praying, “Lord, give me a pure heart, that seeks only you.”
We also saw the need to be sanctified, to be separated to God, to deal with our mistakes. Praise the Lord because we have the blood of Christ. His precious blood is the base of our repentance. We have the blood, the Word and prayer, and with these we can have the vision. David failed, but he repented and he had a way to go on. Which one of us will never fail? Therefore what we need is to be open to seek repentance in the Lord. It's God who gives us genuine repentance. Everyone commits mistakes, but not everyone hates them. We need to change and have the same vision of God. We need to take care of our eyes and our heart.
Let's look at some verses concerning the experience of the vision, “If I regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord did not hear. But indeed God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned my prayer away nor His lovingkindness from me.” (Psalms 66:18-20). We need to take care of our heart; in this way, the Lord can appear to us. We cannot behold the iniquity in our heart, which means, we shouldn't hold sins in our heart.
In this chapter we will see another person described in Hebrews 11, an example of someone strong and active: Moses. Moses is related to the “vessel” which means us. We are vessels whom God can use. If we are proper, God can use us. If our vessel is enlarged, molded by God, He can use us more. If our vessel is not worked on, if it's deficient, our capacity is limited and God will use us less.
Young people, today is the time; you are determining how much God can use you. If you are open for God to work in you, He will use you a lot. But if you are closed to God's work, He may not use you much.
To be like Moses is an exercise; we need to exercise. To be useful to God is an exercise. If you do not like to exercise, God cannot use you much. We can use an example of three vessels of different sizes. If you do not like to exercise, you will be a small vessel. Can you put water in this vessel? Yes, you can put good and pure water, but how many people can drink from this vessel? How many others can this vessel supply? If you are loose, if you do not like to exercise, if you do not like perfecting, your future is to be a vessel with little capacity. You will give water to the people, but how much? You are going to preach the gospel, but how effective will it be? How much living water will flow through you?
If you are open to be worked on and trained today, consecrated to God, He will make you a “vessel” of a medium size. This is better. Who is more useful to God, someone with little capacity or someone with medium capacity? What about to be a “vessel” with a great capacity, which can hold much living water? To be this kind of vessel we need to exercise today. Let's begin in the church meetings, saying “Amen”. Let's begin during the prayers, saying “Amen”.
We can observe that the ones who don't like to say “Amen”, which means, the ones who are always absent-minded in the meetings, especially during the prayers, the ones who do not exercise the spirit to be a large vessel, are less useful to God. But those who are always attentive in the meeting, paying attention, exercising the spirit, saying “Amen” and a lot of “Hallelujah”s, those who are always open to God, those who participate in an active way in the church life and in whose vessels God is working, these vessels will be very useful to God. This is to be Moses. Moses was a useful vessel to God because he was prepared by God and for God.
In Acts 7, we see the description of the situation. After Joseph's death Pharaoh also died, and another Pharaoh came who did not know Joseph; the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Verses 19 and 20 say, “This one dealt craftily with our race and mistreated our fathers so that they threw out their babies in order that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born”. Hallelujah, young one, because one day you were born! In the day that you were born, God looked at you and said: “Moses was born, the one who can be the liberator of My people.” Do you know who he was? He was the liberator. Do not be one who sleeps in the meeting. Be a liberator!
The verse continues, “Moses... was lovely to God and he was nurtured three months in his father's house. And when he was thrown out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up and nurtured him as a son for herself” (vs. 20b - 21). We know from Exodus that Moses was put into the water. He was in the river like we were. But God chose us. Someone took us. The Lord took us and He wants to work himself into us today. You were taken in a basket. God took you from the current of this world and He is working in you today.
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